Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-05-27

The Congo river is one Of the largest in
the world once and half more than the
Mississippi in volume. In much of its
course it is three miles wide. Native fer
ry boats are frequent. At one point near
Stanley Pool, where the river is two miles
wide, it is said that 900 passengers cross
per week The soil above the rapids, is
wonderfully fertile, as shown, in part, by
gigantic sugar cane, grass 10 feet tall, cot
ton and coffee plants growing wild, rich
forests Of red wood and mahogany, album
lant rubber plant and fragrant gum trees.
Elephants luXuriate III the jungles, furnish
ing ivory of great value. All these and
more are tempting to commerce, and make
some Of the native traders rich. The peo-
pie are born traders. nsophisticated,
says Mr.. Stanley, is the last term | should
apply TO an African man or boy. A child
Of eight years will do more tricks of trade
in an hour than the European trader in a
month met a little boy at Bolobo, aged
six. who would get more profit from five
dollars worth of cloth, than AN English
boy Of 10 would from fifty dollars worth.
They have a wonderful shrewdness, and
this trait should work for good in enabling
them to detect evil. Their fear of the evil
one makes it hazardous to incur their sus-
picion. They believe Satan to be white
We Caucasians paint his Satanic majesty in
black With their views and their expert
ence with slave hunters, is it wonder that
they dread strangers with white faces, or
even give a fatal reception now and then
to those against whom Arab calumny has
been directed Stanley states that the peo-
Pile Of the Lower Congo were uniformly am
liable
The climate Of this region, it is fair to
say. is no worse and no better than in 9th
er tropical and equatorial regions danger
Gus 10 Europeans without the needful pre-
cautions, fairly safe with them always re-
quiring occasional absence. The mercury
rarely rose above 90 in the shade and the
nights were cool. Two kinds of draughtS
are deadly, draughts atmospheric and
draughts alcoholic There was never a
| great mortality among Stanley's men, and
his own 800 fevers. great and small, he
| thinks might have been lessened or warded
| off had he earlier learned how to prevent
! them
Our country was the first nation to rec
| ognze the new Congo Free State, Il most
fitting step Stanley was a citizen of the
| United States Germany followed our lead
|
| act of the conference was signed by nine
| teen representatives of fourteen European
powers This Free State has an area as
large us the whole United States exclusive
Of Alaska, aud is now open to merchants,
scientific explorers and missionaries. The
liquor traffic is to he restrained if not eX-
cluded The slave trade is to be prohibit
ed, as it surely must be in the Free State. u
At the gateway Of the realm will be an in
| tcrnutional commission to protect the in
terests of all who enter The missionary
is to have special protection, A submarine
telegraph on the west coast is trying t.
stretch itself to the Congo. When this is
achieved, connection will be established
with Alden, Port Natal and Zanzibar The
trade of the Congo Basin, if connected with
the ocean by short railway, would soor
be, it is estimated, 10 millions that of al
Central Africa, 2j0 millions This railway
for 23O miles is already contracted for, and
Mr. Stanley is placed in charge of the un
dertaking. And now we hear that : 600
miles above Stanley Pool are open to com
merce.